Editor’s Note: This letter that was originally sent to the Mayor and City Council was also sent to Black Westchester to shed some light on the situation
Dear Mayor of the City of Mount Vernon, Mount Vernon City Council members and officials,
I am writing on behalf of WESPAC Foundation, a 42-year-old social justice organization in Westchester County.
We are writing because we are very concerned to hear from our dear colleague Ruby Olisemeka that a garden plot she has been nurturing with Mount Vernon youth at 230 South 3rd Avenue in Mount Vernon is in the process of being sold without informing the people who have been putting loving energy into the space, creating a place of peace and learning for the neighborhood.
We are asking that the City of Mount Vernon please prevent this sale from happening and allow our young gardeners the opportunity to transform themselves and their neighborhood by developing this garden, and by allowing them the space to keep planting herbs, flowers and vegetables for themselves, their families and friends. Together we hope this site will remain a meeting place to envision a Mount Vernon that is violence free, with every person sufficiently nourished in body, mind and spirit.
It is a plot of open space, but its potential is so much deeper and the possibilities limitless.
Please let us know that you are doing all you can to be as supportive of Ruby’s efforts as possible.
If I can lend any organizational support in this matter, I would be very pleased to do so.
Thank you for considering this seriously,
Nada
Black Westchester
Black Westchester - News With The Black Point Of View is an online news magazine for people of color for Westchester and the Tri- State area of New York at every economic level. Our mission is to promote the concept of “community” through media.
